a hike in the woods

we spent our holiday yesterday in charlottesville, va smelling the honey suckle in the air and walking around part of the urban trail, followed by a picnic of fruits, veggies, and hummus.  jo enjoyed a playground before we drove a ways on the parkway for a little hiking.  after a rest/nap in the car, we ended up hiking over 4 miles!  i must say, our three-year-old is a little adventurer.  we met 23, yes 23 orange (and one brown) salamanders along the trail.  counting these made for a LOT of fun, and jo found the genetic abnormality of #23 a pretty brown with orange spots.  maybe it's just not so abnormal, but 1 in 23 seemed so.  will do research online later. each ranged between 1.5 and 3 inches in length and were so bright along the trail.  the greens of the moss and ferns were breathtaking.  we hiked through the rain along a good portion of the trail, which added a really lovely sound.  i chose to leave the camera in the car, keeping the hike simple.  what will come visually are some new prints that will be inspired by some of these ferns and moss.  i have two ideas bubbling and can't wait to get started!  

i love these days where art, appreciation, and family all intersect.  toward the end of the hike, i asked jo who made the world, which prompted a prayer after our short discussion: 

dear god, thank you for this day.  thank you for the world.  thank you for the trees and plants, thank you for the orange lizards, thank you for my friend t, thank you for my mommy and daddy, thank you for this world.  amen. 

and there were a few lines that have slipped from memory.  yesterday's hikes, the constructed walk in the city and the hike on the AT were each important to us.  we love our time as a family and our time as a family outdoors works its spiritual impact on each of us.  thank you god, for this day.  thank you for the world.  thank you for the trees and plants.  thank you for the orange lizards, the moss, and the ferns.  thank you for our family.  thank you god, for this day.  amen.